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News Roundup | 2.7.17

EMORY – A Goizueta Business School student was recently diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) and is currently undergoing treatment. The student is healthy enough to continue the treatment at his off-campus home instead of at a hospital, according to Executive Director of Emory Student Health Services Michael Huey. The University worked with DeKalb County Board of Health to find, contact and test individuals who may have come into contact with the student. The results of those tests have not yet been determined. Testing is being provided by Emory Student Health Services at the Goizueta Business School. TB can only be spread when the infected individual is within close proximity, Huey said. Senior Administrator for Emory University’s Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response sent a Feb. 7 email strongly advising some students to receive a test to screen for tuberculosis today at the Coca Cola Commons.

Emory’s Ebola Grant Doubles

EMORY – A federal grant given in 2015 for $12 million to establish the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) was doubled to $24 million to expand the Center’s capabilities, according to a Feb. 3 University press release. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the grant to the co-leads of the Center: Emory, the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha (UNMC) and NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in New York. The NETEC was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services July 2015. The additional funding will “allow the three partner institutions to perform additional site visits, conduct more education and training courses, as well as build the special pathogens research network,” the press release said.

Senate Confirms DeVos as Education Secretary

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as the U.S. secretary of education Tuesday in a 51-50 vote, according to The New York Times. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence cast the final vote to break the Senate’s deadlock, the first time a vice president cast a tiebreaking vote in a Cabinet confirmation, The Washington Post reported. Senate Democrats contested DeVos’ nomination due to her limited experience with the public school system, The Post reported. Democrats also questioned her suitability due to her support for vouchers, which allow students to spend federal funds on private and religious school tuition, TheTimes reported.

UC Berkeley Yiannopoulos Protests Turn Violent

BERKELEY – A peaceful protest in anticipation of a speech by far-right commentator and Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos became violent when approximately 150 “radical protesters” began destroying property and punching people at University of California at Berkeley last Wednesday, according to The Daily Californian. Student group Berkeley College Republicans had invited Yiannopoulos to speak that night, but the University canceled the event after protests turned violent. A Feb. 1 campus-wide email estimated that protesters caused $100,000 in damages by setting large fires and breaking windows, the Daily Cal reported. President Donald J. Trump threatened on Twitter to cut U.C. Berkeley’s federal funding for not allowing free speech. Yiannopoulos announced Saturday in a Facebook post that he planned to reschedule his speech within a few months.